


Little Half-Breed

by Wizzy



Category: Hakuouki
Genre: Blood, Demons, Denial, F/M, Furies, Half-Demon, Trust Issues, Water Of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-30
Updated: 2015-10-22
Packaged: 2018-04-24 04:18:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 17,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4905217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wizzy/pseuds/Wizzy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A thief has broken into the Shinsengumi's headquarters. After having successfully stolen and hidden away her precious target, she has to escape. But that's where everything is about to go wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Kazama's Little Half-Breed

_Quietly... If anyone hears me, I'm as good as dead,_ I reminded myself. Breaking into any place would be risky. When that place was the headquarters of the Shinsengumi... needless to say, it was suicidal.

But orders are orders, and Kazama insisted that stealing this... whatever this was... was important.

Ever since I was just a little girl, I've served him in whatever way he demanded of me. My father left me in his care and I never heard from my family again. All I knew was that I had half demon blood and half human blood.

I slipped around the corner and my heart almost stopped. Someone was standing there, staring at me. The stranger's eyes flicked downward to the stuff in my hands and then back up to my face that was covered by a hood. No doubt that he could figure it out.

Immediately he shouted out, alerting the others of the intruder. Panicking, I ran off in a different direction. Soon I'd lost him, but I knew it wouldn't be long before they found me.

So I stashed the stolen items away where I figured that they wouldn't be found. When I escaped. I could just sneak back and grab it later. At least, that was the plan.

But my plans never seem to go my way.

Every direction I tried to run, I was cut off by another enemy. With every second that passed, my death became a minute closer.

I'd never been much of a fighter. In fact, I could barely even defend myself. It had never been necessary to learn, since Kazama, Shiranui or Amagiri had always been around. Not that I ever needed to defend myself anyway.

Running off in another direction, I tried my luck with that escape route. A blade swung out at me and I barely managed to dodge it. This guy must be good if he could get that close, but even so, my speed was greater than his skill.

Just as I'd managed to escape him, something tripped me. The second my body hit the ground, I scrambled to get to my feet. I didn't get far before I felt something pressing against my back, pinning me to the ground.

Panic surged within me. I struggle under my captor's grip, but it managed to get me nowhere. The most that happened was my hood falling away and revealing my face to my enemy.  _Looks like it's game over..._

All that was left was to wait for the final strike that would end my life. But something seemed off... Shouldn't he have killed me by now? Why was he hesitating?

When I lifted my head up just a bit, I felt a small spark of hope. Standing there not far from where I was pinned to the ground, was someone who could easily free me. Even if I'd never been the slightest bit happy to see him at any time in my life, I was thrilled to see him.

“Kazama!”


	2. Keep Her Alive

_(Shinpachi's POV)_

I should kill her. I'm supposed to kill her. But when I looked down at her after her hood had fallen off, revealing the fact that she was just a little girl, I couldn't bring myself to do it.

“Kazama!” The girl pinned down underneath my foot called out his name. When I looked up, there he stood with his usual two followers. But even hearing her calling out to him for help, he showed no signs that he'd help her.

“Kazama?” The kid's voice changed so much in just a moment. I had no doubt that she was afraid. Anyone would be in her place. “Amagiri?” She turned her head as she called out to another of her companions. He made no movements to help her. “Shiranui?” Her voice sounded so desperate, it made me want to jump in and rescue her myself. But apparently her “friends” didn't feel that way.

 _Are they really just going to abandon this kid?_ This was wrong...

As the three turned and walked away, the girl called out once more. This time, her voice full of anger. “Kazama!”

I couldn't stand this. “You'd just abandon one of your own men so easily?” I shouted after him, causing him to turn and face me. That look on his face only supported the thought that he didn't care at all.

“That filthy little half-breed means nothing to me. If you killed her, you'd be doing me a favor.” As Kazama spoke, I felt sick to my stomach. Sure, the kid was technically our enemy, but that didn't make it okay to just leave her to die. Was she really that worthless in his eyes? “The only one who knows the location of what was stolen from you, is that dirty half-breed underneath you.”

 _So in other words, we_ need _her alive..._

“She's not worth the trouble it would take to retrieve her, so I'll just leave her to you.” Kazama's voice was like ice. He turned his back to me, looking over his shoulder just long enough to say one last thing. “Though I doubt you'll get anything out of her, even if you torture her.”

As he walked away, my attention drifted down to the young girl under my foot. She barely even looked old enough to be a teenager. To even consider killing her... or even torturing her... the thought alone made me sick.

“What am I supposed to do?” I muttered to myself. My sword was raised and prepared to end her life, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. As I stood there, several of the other captains gathered around.

“Just a kid...”

“What should we do with her?”

“Kill her already.”

Each voice had a different thought, but none of them seemed to really reach me. “It's like Kazama wants us to kill her... He said we needed her alive...” I just couldn't seem to understand all this. “Damn it! Just what the hell are we supposed to do?” I shouted out of frustration.

Everyone turned their eyes to Hijikata. He was pretty much the one in charge of everything. Kondo usually went along with whatever he decided. Now was probably no exception. “Tie her up,” he ordered as he watched her struggling to get away. You'd have thought she would have given up by now, but the kid wasn't about to go down easy. “We'll decide what to do with her in the morning.”


	3. Vicious Little Demon

_(Half-Breed's POV)_

Trapped. All because of Kazama refusing to even try to free me, I was now a prisoner.

For over half of my life, I'd served Kazama in any way he desired. But being only half demon, I was of little use for much other than a sparring partner when he was bored. Well, I say partner, but I was more like a target. I didn't exactly have a high level of strength or even skill with any sort of weapons, but speed was something I did have. In a way, it kept the both of us in decent condition. But it hadn't exactly been any real help for me this time.

On Kazama's orders, I'd broken into probably one of the worst places I could have: the headquarters of the Shinsengumi. Getting in and stealing what I'd needed to was the easy part. However, escaping with it would be impossible, so instead I hid it away where no one else could get to it. Then I ran, hoping to escape the compound and retrieve it for Kazama later on. However, that was where the plan failed.

And now, here I was, stashed away in some empty room with my hands tied behind my back. Maybe it was lucky for me that the only thing they bothered to tie up were my hands, but that was still very inconvenient for me. The rope was tight, cutting painfully into my wrists as I tried to pull myself free, or at least loosen the bindings. But as with all my plans, it did not go as planned.

“Damn!” I cursed quietly to myself. Even if these guys had listened to Kazama and intended to keep me alive so that the could get back what I'd stolen, I didn't want to take any chances. Escape was the only option.

With silent steps, I crept over to the door. Then came my second problem: getting the door open when I couldn't use my hands. Of course, breaking it down was an option, but that would be noisy and draw attention to my escape attempt. No, I had to do this carefully and quietly or it was sure to fail.

Just as I was about to try to open the door, someone on the other side beat me to it. The second it was open, I ran out as fast as I could. Before I could even get more than a few steps from the door, someone grabbed me by the collar and pulled me back.

“I wouldn't try to run, friend,” the man's voice said as his grip moved to my arm. “If you do, I'll have to kill you.”

The man then began dragging me off somewhere within the compound. “You'll just kill me anyway, so what does it matter?” I growled back at him, struggling in the stranger's grasp. Once I'd managed to get an opening, I leaned my head over and bit down hard on the hand that had a grip on me. It may not have been the most effective way to attack, but I managed to catch him off guard and break loose. Free, I raced away.

But once again, my plan failed me. As I had when I'd been caught, I was thrown onto the ground. Face down, I was pinned before I had a chance to get up. “Looks like Hijikata was right to not trust this one,” said a voice not far off, though it didn't come from the man who currently was holding me on the ground.

“Hard to believe a kid like her was able to break in here alone,” added another, who I guessed had shown up to see what was going on. Or he may have been ordered here in case the other three hadn't been enough. Either they had greatly overestimated me, or the commanders didn't want to take any chances.

“What I'd like to know is how she thought she could get away with it,” the one who I had bitten said, stepping into my line of vision. Looking up at his hand, it was red where the knuckles met the palm and it appeared that I'd bit down just enough to barely break the skin. “One little girl against the entire Shinsengumi? No one would stand even the slightest chance.” The man then noticed my gaze and smirked at me. In return, I just glared up at him.

“Are you just going to stand there or are you going to bring her in?”

 

_(Shinpachi's POV)_

It seemed so wrong to even consider killing a kid, let alone a girl... But if it was what was necessary, then there really wasn't a choice. The only reason she was still alive now was because of what Kazama had said. Which brings up another thing that was wrong; that guy completely abandoned her even when she was practically begging him for help. After that, would she still go back to him?

Currently, the kid was sitting in the middle of the room, with the rest of us in a circle around her. This way, there was no chance of her escaping if she tried to make a run for it again. “Do you have a name?” Hijikata's voice asked the kid, though she just remained silent.

“Maybe she can't talk,” suggested Chizuru, who I hadn't even noticed was in the room. If I hadn't heard her speak last night, I'd have wondered if she could speak.

“She can talk just fine,” I stated, remembering that voice I'd heard the night before. It had been so broken and desperate when she's realized that Kazama and the others were just going to leave her. “Unless she magically lost her voice overnight, she can talk.”

Thinking back, Kazama had called her a half-breed. That likely meant that she was half demon. That meant she was like Chizuru, right? Chizuru was pure-blooded though, so that would mean this half-breed wasn't as strong.

“Maybe she's scared then,” said Chizuru, coming up with another excuse as to why the kid wouldn't. “After all, you guys tend to look scary at first.”

“We're not that scary,” I argued, trying to think of my own reason the kid wouldn't talk. The only one I could think of was that she'd just accepted that she was going to die, so there was no point in helping us. “Maybe Hijikata or Souji or Saito, but not us.”

Okita seemed to think talking was useless. “Well, I don't see any reason to keep her alive if-” he started to say, but Chizuru interrupted him.

“Okita! Your hand is bleeding!”

“Hmm?” Sure enough, there was a small amount of blood trickling out of the wound that the kid had made. “Well, would you look at that... that little half-breed's got one hell of a bite.”

“Souji, stop calling her a half-breed,” Kondo scolded him. “It's disrespectful.”

Okita just shrugged. “It's not like we know her name or anything.”

“He's right though. if she won't tell us her name, what should we call her?” Heisuke said, bringing up a good point. Each of us exchanged glances. Just what do you call someone who refuses to tell you their name?

When no one said anything, an unfamiliar voice spoke up. “You might as well just call me a filthy little half-breed like that demon jackass does,” the kid said, her voice like acid.

_So she hates Kazama? Then why help him?_

“Filthy little half-breed, huh?” Okita thought out loud. Either he didn't seem to pick up on the fact that she was irritated about being called that or he just didn't care. Knowing him, it was most likely the second one. “That's a bit of a mouthful, but I suppose it works.”

“Souji!”

“So, little half-breed,” said Okita, ignoring Kondo's scolding. “Where are the things you've stolen from us?”

I don't know why any of us were expecting her to answer, since she'd made it pretty clear that she didn't want to help us. “Go throw yourself off a bridge,” she hissed.

“Aww...” Okita didn't seem fazed by her words. He just kept that same old smirk on his face. “That's not very nice, Half-Breed.”

Her eyes showed only hatred. If I didn't know how poor of a fighter she really was, I might have actually been scared. Once again, she hissed another insult at him. Although I couldn't hear what it was this time.

Clearly irritated by her insult, Okita grabbed her by the front of her collar.

“Souji!”

“Okita!”

He ignored the others protests and just glared down at her. But she showed not even the tiniest hint of fear. In fact, her glare was even more intense than his. “You're lucky that we need you alive, Half-Breed.” Okita's words were cold. “But once you're not needed,  _I'll kill you._ ”

The half-breed didn't seem affected by his threats. Or so I thought. The moment she sunk her teeth into his arm, I knew different. Being bitten a second time, Okita was pissed. It took several of us to restrain him and keep him from killing her on the spot.

While the others were busy with him, Hijikata shouted out some orders. “Shinpachi, take her back to her room!”

Not wanting to risk being bitten, I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder.  _Looks like this isn't going to be easy._


	4. A Soft Side

_(Half-Breed's POV)_

The man who'd carried me out of the room took me back to where they'd had me locked up before. Setting me down on the floor, he stared down at me.

“I don't want to have to kill you,” the man told me. “Killing a girl, let alone a child, is just wrong. But if we have to we will.”

It was strange to hear something like that coming from a big person like him, but knowing that he'd rather not kill me was somewhat comforting. “You're just going to kill me once you get that junk back anyway,” I sighed. “What difference would it make for me to help you?”

“Well, we can't have you running back to Kazama,” He said calmly, sitting down in front of me. Thinking back, he had the same voice as the man who'd nearly crushed me under his foot. They were probably the same guy.

“Why would I go back to him?” My temper started to flare up again. “I've always hated him. It's not like I was anything but a worthless little pet anyway.”

The man's question that followed was one I should have expected. “Then why work for him?”

“Demons have to stick together.” That's what I said, but really, I didn't have any choice. My own father was the one who'd given me to Kazama when I was just a little girl. “Besides, it's not like I had anywhere else to go. No one wants me around anyway.”

“Because you're a half-breed? Or because of the way you act towards everyone?” The big man brought up a good question, but did it really matter? For awhile, we talked like that, neither side really finding out anything about the other.

As he stood up to leave, I called out to him.“Hey human,” I said, looking up at him. “You have a name?”

He looked at me, confused a bit. Sure, it was an odd time to be asking his name, but this man intrigued me, so I was curious. “Shinpachi Nagakura,” he told me, giving a slight smile. “Care to tell me yours?”

For just a moment, I considered telling him my name. But when I remember all the times in the past that people had known my name and never called me by it, I decided not to waste my time with it. “I'll tell you when I can actually trust you.”

 

Several times every day, one member of the Shinsengumi would enter my prison and try to talk to me. Two days after I'd been captured, the one who'd captured me returned. Shinpachi Nagakura, he'd said his name was.

“Are you ready to talk yet?”

“What's the point?” My voice was cold and emotionless. There was no reason for me to tell them anything. “I talk, you get what you want, you kill me. I keep my mouth shut, you find it on your own, you kill me. I refuse to help you, you kill me.”

“There's no guarantee that we'd kill you,” Shinpachi sighed. He sat down in front of me, prepared to begin the next attempt at interrogation. “If you cooperate, we may even let you go.”

Let me go? Yeah right. As if I would actually believe that. “Even if you do, where would I even go?” Shinpachi flinched at the harshness of my voice. “It's not like Kazama ever gave a damn about me anyway. My own family gave me to him, so they clearly never wanted me.”

“What about joining the Shinsengumi?”

“I'm not stupid,” I growled. “There's no way in hell anyone would allow that; it's not like I even want to join anyway.” Sure, if I weren't a filthy little half-breed, maybe I would actually have a chance. But no, this little half-breed doesn't belong anywhere.

 

“I told you, there's no point in me telling you anything,” I said to Shinpachi before he'd even managed to close the door. We'd been through this same scene many times now. I'd been here... four days? No, five. Five days of random interrogations with each captain of the Shinsengumi. However, they hadn't managed to get anything useful out of me.

“What makes you think I'm here for that?” Shinpachi sounded hurt, but I figured he was only faking it.

“Because you humans are selfish creatures,” I hissed. “You just want to know where your stuff is.”

“I'm hurt that you'd think that.” He set something down beside him and crossed his arms over his chest. “And to think I'd brought something for you.”

I forcibly had to keep myself from sounding excited. “You did?”

“Well that's a very sudden change of attitude,” Shinpachi laughed. “What do you say to having a little talk?”

 _Oh I see, trying to bribe me._ My smile instantly was replaced by a glare. “I'm not telling you where it is.”

“I wasn't even going to ask this time,” he smiled at me. “I wanted to talk about you.”

“Why?” Normally I'd have sounded pissed off annoyed when I spoke, but this time it was merely innocent curiosity. “I'm nothing special. Just a filthy little half-breed who will never have a place in this world.”

“Did Kazama tell you that?”

“Does it matter?” I sighed. If it was true, did it matter if someone had told me that. “It's- what is that?” Shinpachi had pulled out some strange looking things on sticks.

“This?” he asked, holding up a stick with little balls of white stuck on it. “You mean you don't know what this is?”

I just shook my head. “Kazama never let me go anywhere and never brought back anything for me that wasn't absolutely necessary. So I've never seen anything like that before.”

“Here,” he said, holding one out to me. I started to reach for it, but my arm wouldn't move forward. “They're still keeping you tied up like that?” It was stupid of him to ask that. If my hands were tied, then the answer to that was painfully obvious. “Do they at least untie you long enough to eat?” I shook my head. In fact, they hadn't untied me at any time since I'd been captured. “Guess that explains why you weren't eating.”

“You're supposed to keep a prisoner locked up, right?” As I spoke, Shinpachi moved beside me, reaching behind my back. “What are you doing?”

“Untying you.”

“Why?”

“Well, you're going to be needing your hands,” he smirked. I could feel the ropes loosening and falling to the floor behind me. “Besides, I'm the one who keeps catching you when you try to escape. There's no way you're going to overpower me, even with demon blood.”

“I guess trying to run now might be pretty stupid,” I admitted, looking at my now free hands. There were red indentations on wrists from where the rope had dug into the skin.

“Here, let me see your hand,” he asked in a gentle tone. I held out one hand, which he took in his own. Turning it over in his hands, he gently rubbed the areas where the rope had touched my skin. Slowly, I could feel the pain from the ropes fading away. “As long as you're not trying to run, I see no reason for you to be tied up all the time.”

This guy shouldn't have been so trusting of me. For all he knew, I could be faking my lack of fighting skill and was waiting for him to let his guard down. But lucky for him, I was too intrigued by him and the kindness he'd shown me to even attempt anything like that. “You're weird for a human.”


	5. Making Progress

_(Shinpachi's POV)_

“Acting nicely towards her seems to be giving us some progress,” I informed Hijikata. It felt wrong to be acting so kind to the kid and then telling the others what information she'd shared with me. It was almost like I was pretending to be her friend. Although I was just being nice because that was just how I was. I didn't actually think it would help us.

Hijikata just nodded. “Good. Keep it up then.”

“I haven't noticed anything different,” Heisuke frowned. “In all the times I've tried to talk to her, she's hardly said a word.”

“The same goes for me as well,” Sano said.

“You mean the kid won't even talk to  _you_ , Sano?” Not even Sanosuke Harada, the man who could get any woman without even trying, couldn't get this girl to talk? There was no way... “I don't believe that.”

“Why don't we just leave this task to Nagakura?” As smart as Saito was, I wasn't so sure about them leaving this to me. Even if I'd gotten her to talk, she still made it very clear that she had no intentions of helping us. “The rest of us do not appear to be making any progress, so we should have him be the only one to question her.”

Barely a moment passed before Souji added his opinion. “Well, if all else fails, we could always torture the kid.”

“That's too far,” I said, sticking up for the kid. “Besides, I don't think it would have any effect on her anyway.”

Hijikata shot me a questioning glance. “Do you have any reason behind this theory?”

“From what I can tell, Kazama treated her like a worthless mutt for the entire time she's been around the guy. That was at least a few years,” I explained, piecing together what bits of information I'd gathered. “Not to mention I noticed quite a few scars as well. I don't know why they never healed completely, but I think it's safe to say those are from Kazama.”

“Didn't Kazama say torture wouldn't work on her?” Sano added, reminding me of the night we'd caught her. Kazama had said that, but I hadn't actually considered that it was true. But after seeing the scars, the pieces were all coming together.

“If that's really true, then we'll be counting on you, Shinpachi,” Hijikata told me, snapping me out of my thoughts. “You may just be our only hope of getting any information out of her.”

With that, he and the others started to leave the room. I didn't even get a chance to say that relying on me for something like this was a bad idea. No, not just bad, terrible.

Okay, sure, I like women. Really like women. But dealing with girls? Definitely not something that I was really good at. In fact, I was pretty bad.

“You should go see her,” Sano said as he and Heisuke stopped at the door.

Heisuke smiled back at me. No doubt, he had some thought in he head that I probably shouldn't know about. “No one's been in to see her today. I bet she'll be happy to see you.”

 

Over the next few days, I met with the kid twice each day. Apparently Hijikata thought that since I was the only doing this interrogation, it would be better to meet with her more often. Sure, something like that should work in theory, but chances are that the kid would get sick of me and refuse to talk with me. Especially considering that Hijikata had told me that she had to stay tied up except for the time she was eating. Even if I trusted her, no one else did.

 

During one of our sessions, she asked something that I hadn't really been expecting. “The others haven't shown up in awhile. Why?” To be honest, I hadn't expected her to even care. Her voice was calm. No anger, no hatred, just innocent curiosity.

“Hijikata thought that since I was the only who could get you to talk that I should just be the only one to handle this...” I frowned. Not only was this a bit of a hassle, it cut into the time I had free and the time I needed for my other tasks. The irritation in my voice was painfully obvious.

The kid's reaction was not what I'd thought it be. For the first time, she was laughing. It was how you'd expect a pretty woman's laugh would be, but it was more sweet, and gentle with an edge of a childish giggle to it.

All I could do was stare. This was the first time I'd really seen her smiling. In that moment, I saw it. Deep down, despite that harsh exterior and distrusting nature, deep down inside she was just your average girl. She could laugh, smile, love... just like she could threaten, insult and hate.

This girl right here in front of me, laughing and smiling... watching her made me smile. That little smile on her face, it was cute. It left a warm, fuzzy feeling in my heart.

But our little moment was cut short. Coming from the outside was a lot of noise. Over some shouting, I easily picked up the sound of blade against blade. Someone was attacking our headquarters. Kazama, maybe?

I didn't stop to think. I rushed out the door, forgetting to close it behind me.  


	6. If You Want Him To Live

_(Half-Breed's POV)_

Immediately following the sound, Shinpachi had rushed out, leaving the door open behind him. Even with my hands tied behind my back, it would have been so easy to sneak away. This was my chance. While everyone was busy with the intruders, I could run away. At least, that's what I thought.

Slipping out the door, I managed to get past most of the rogue samurai attacking the Shinsengumi. They weren't Kazama's men, so I had no idea who they were. But it really didn't matter. Whoever they were, they were giving me the opportunity to escape.

However, the attackers would be quickly dealt with. As I ran, a shout caught my attention, forcing me to stop running. “Souji!” Turning around, I saw the man who I'd bitten before. There he stood, a look of pure terror on his face as a blade stabbed through his chest from behind.

For just a moment, my heart stopped. The sword had gone completely through him and was pulled back out.  _That's too close to his heart._ He must have been caught off guard.

My head kept telling me to run, but a part of me told me that I had to do something. Forget escaping; don't let him die. The blade cut too close to the heart, he was going to die if I didn't do something. Acting on impulse, I ran towards him as his body fell to the ground. But before I got close, someone grabbed me.

“Let go of me!” I struggled against his grip. “I swear I'm not trying to run!”

The voice that answered was all too familiar. Shinpachi's voice. “You really think we can believe that?”

“You want him to live, don't you?” Shinpachi's grip on me loosened slightly. He had every reason not to believe me, but this was the one time I needed him to. “I can save him! If you want your friend to live, then you have to untie my hands.”

“Why should I believe you?” If I were going to do this, it had to be soon. I could sense it: the tiny flickering flame that was his life. Too much longer and it would go out. Even though they couldn't tell that he was alive, I could feel hims slipping closer to death.

“You have no reason to,” I admitted. My voice was small and almost breaking. I couldn't stand to see people die, even if they were an enemy. What a weakness to have when you act like you hate everyone, huh? “He's just barely alive. If I hurry, there's a chance that he can be saved!”

Shinpachi said nothing, but I could feel his hold on me loosening even more. If he didn't make up his mind soon, it would be too late. Even if he didn't trust me, the only chance there was to save him rested on me.

“Please...” I pleaded. Even if I hated the guy, I didn't want to see him die. Even knowing what it would do to me, I had to do it. “Let me save him.”


	7. Half-Breed's Secret

_(Shinpachi's POV)_

Trusting her probably wasn't the smartest idea. She had even said that there was no reason for me to trust her. But even knowing that, or maybe even because of that, I'd decided to trust her.

I watched her as she rushed over to Okita's body. She placed both her hands over his wound, one on top of the other. After that, I had no idea what she was doing.

There was no way Okita could survive a wound like that. There was no way he could even still be even the tiniest bit alive. But if the kid really thought that she could save his life, it had to be worth trying. How she knew that he wasn't dead yet would still remain a mystery though.

As I stared at her kneeling next to Okita's body, I noticed something strange. A small strip of her hair turned to white. Not like blonde or gray... pure white like the snow. Right there on the front of her right side, a small strip of white was the only indication that she'd done something.

Moments later, she collapsed next to his body. The second hers hit the ground, Okita sprang up, with his wound gone without a trace.

I instantly rushed forward, lifting up the girl's unconscious body. She could have just run away when I'd let her go, but she chose to save his life instead. The kid had given up her chance at freedom for someone she didn't even like.

Looking her over, I noticed something else. On her hand was a deep bite mark that hadn't even started to heal yet. If it weren't for the blood, I may not have noticed it right away. I hadn't even seen her do it, but it was clearly connected to whatever it was that she had done to Souji.

_Just what did you do?_

 

_(Half-Breed's POV)_

When I regained consciousness, the first thing I saw was Shinpachi's face. Maybe it wasn't the greatest thing in the world to see, but it was enough to bring a smile to my face. Even knowing what would happen later, I still felt happy. “How long was I out?”

He gave me a confused look. “It's been about a day.” His gaze settled on my face. When he spoke again, his voice was calm, but also a bit angry. It made sense though, I had been keeping secrets from him. “What did you do to Souji?”

“I healed him,” I said, hoping that he wouldn't ask anything more. Not even Kazama knew about this and I never wanted anyone to find out.

“He shouldn't have been able to survive, even if he was a fury,” Shinpachi argued. “Then there's the bite mark on your hand. And why did part of your hair turn white?”

At the mention of the last thing, I felt my heart skip a beat. That was the only physical thing that showed what I'd done. The fact that he could see it meant that I wouldn't be able to hide my little ability.

With a sigh, I began to explain what I could. “It's an ability that I discovered I had when I was just a child.” After all these years, I was finally telling someone about the mysterious little ability that I'd discovered I had. “I've only ever used it once before, and after that one time, I hoped I'd never have to do it again.” Turning my back to Shinpachi, I lifted up my hair, revealing a small bit of white hair cut much shorter than the rest. The only proof of what I'd done. “This was from that time.”

Even if his face wasn't visible to me, I felt certain that he was staring. “You kept that hidden all this time?”

“If anyone knew about it, many people would want to abuse it. I even kept it a secret from Kazama,” I admitted as I faced him again. This had to be kept quiet, for my own safety. “Every time I do that, part of my hair will turn white. If I were to keep using that ability until all of my hair became white, it would kill me.”

“That doesn't explain why you're so afraid of using it.”

“Let's just say it takes a long time for me to recover from it.” I didn't dare mention that the one time I'd used it before, it had taken an entire month to fully recover. I hadn't even been able to fully heal the guy like this time. “It's pretty rough on my body, so chances are I won't be able to run away from here for awhile.”

He could tell that there was something that wasn't being said. But if there were more questions on his mind, Shinpachi didn't ask. I was grateful for that, but I hated to keep such a secret from him. He was the first person to ever treat me like just a normal person. Not some pathetic little half-breed, not a weak little girl, but a person, a friend even.

Friend? I don't think I've ever used that word in my life. It was strange to call him a friend, but it felt right. “I still don't trust you, so I don't expect you to trust me,” I admitted. “But if you'd be willing to let me wander around this place more freely, I won't try to escape.”

There was no reason for him to believe me, but I'd meant what I said. That would be my demon pride kicking in; one of the very few decent things I'd managed to learn from Kazama. If one of us, or really  _them_ , were to promise something, we'd be compelled by our own sense of pride to keep such a promise.

Shinpachi's face clearly showed his reluctance about trusting me. To be honest, I probably wouldn't trust me if I were in his place. Although, I did just save his friend's life, so surely I'd gained even just a little bit of trust.

“Just don't make me say any more about what happened,” I added, hoping that he wouldn't pry any further into this. This was a secret that was better kept hidden, for my own safety. If the wrong information fell into the wrong hands... I hate to think of what might happen. “Please, let me keep this secret to myself.”

The man sitting in front of me was quiet. Inside, there was a argument going on.  _Should I trust her? Is it a trick? What do I do?_ Those were more than likely the thoughts warring in his head.

After awhile, he stood and headed for the door. Stopping to look back at me, he told me his decision. “You haven't lied to me,” he said calmly. “And you gave up your chance to escape to save Souji. So for now, I'm willing to trust you.”


	8. Hiding Things

_(Shinpachi's POV)_

After some time, I finally convinced Hijikata to allow the kid to wander around headquarters. It wasn't easy, but after making the point that the more she trusted us, the more likely she'd be to return what she'd stolen from us, he and Kondo finally gave in.

She was still technically a prisoner, so someone had to keep an eye on her at all times. Most times, this job was left to me. Not that I really minded that, but it wasn't that exciting of a job.

As promised, she didn't try to run. Though sometimes I wished she would, even if only for a bit of excitement. But the kid never tried anything. In fact, I often caught her following me around the compound.

“Just what do you guys do?” she asked, innocently curious. Had I not known that Kazama never let her go anywhere or do anything, I'd have thought that a stupid question.

But I just smiled and answered her. “We protect the peace here in Kyoto. Sometimes it's little things like taking care of a few guys who are causing trouble. Sometimes we take on larger groups too.”

The kid stopped and looked over to the side. Curious, I glanced over to see what had caught her attention. Saito was training some of the men. “That man... why does he hold his sword different than everyone else?”

It took a moment to realize that she meant Saito. “Saito's left-handed, so the way he handles his sword is kind of backwards compared to everyone else,” I calmly explained. “But he's a real master with this stuff. Most of us aren't anywhere near as good.”

She didn't look away from them and had a strange expression on her face. It was calm, almost admiring. Her next words only supported that. “Do you think that maybe I could learn too, some day?”

For a second, after she'd spoke, I thought I saw her wince. But when it didn't happen again, I just assumed it had been my imagination. “I'm sure you will, some day.”

 

_(Half-Breed's POV)_

Days seemed to pass slowly. Or maybe it only seemed that way because I was still recovering from what I'd done to save Shinpachi's friend. But it had already been over a week since then.

Now that I was free to wander about, the others slowly started to act like were beginning to accept me. Sure, I could never get more than just a minute alone, but I didn't really mind. I'd even been allowed to eat with the captains and some girl they called Chizuru.

I never understood her purpose here, but I suppose it was unimportant. Kazama had once spoke of a woman from the Yukimura clan that was currently residing with the Shinsengumi. It was safe to assume this was her. After, I could sense that she was a demon. A pure-blooded one, unlike myself. That alone was the reason for Kazama's interest in her. Me? I didn't care the slightest.

I cast a glance over at the demon woman as I ate my food. She was seated between the quiet, dark haired man and the one that whose life I'd saved. Shinpachi, who currently appeared to be fighting with a small brown-haired boy over some food, had told me that the quiet one was called Saito and the other Okita. Hajime Saito and Souji Okita, to be exact.

Okita had been the man I'd bitten my first day here. He'd also made it quite clear that he was in favor of ending my life once I'd returned what I'd stolen. Even after saving his ass, we weren't on good terms.

Saito... I actually knew nothing. Supposedly he was good with a sword and a said few words.

However, I had heard quite a bit about two of the others. Heisuke Toudou and Sanosuke Harada. Shinpachi was close to them and I had spent a lot of time with him, so naturally I'd come to know them as well.

The rest, I knew their names and rank, but that was it.

 _These humans are strange..._ I thought to myself. A sudden twinge shot through my body. It caught me off guard, almost making me drop my chopsticks. This action did not go unnoticed by the captains of the Shinsengumi.

“Is something wrong?” the quiet one, Saito, asked. There was no concern in his voice, only calm curiosity.

I quickly shook my head, denying that anything had happened.  _Not now..._ I silently begged. I knew what that little twinge meant, and it was not good. Soon there was another. “Damn it...” I muttered almost silently to myself.

Quickly standing up, I bowed and apologized before darting out of the room. Getting where I could be alone was the most important thing right now. No, I couldn't let any of them see what was about to happen. I'd barely made it in time before it began.

Jolts of pain shot throughout my body. It took all I had to not cry out. I had a high pain tolerance, but this... this was excruciating. Biting down on my arm, I tried to focus on something... anything else. But this was too much for that.

This was the price I paid for messing with fate. This was why I feared that ability that I'd used to save Okita's life. Unlike the first time, this was worse, though I'd only been a child then.

I whimpered quietly as more jolts shot through me. Tears began forming and quickly falling from my eyes.  _Please! No more!_ I silently begged for it to stop, but that wouldn't happen. No, this would happen at random for awhile.

I backed up against the wall, using it for support. Standing would be impossible otherwise. My unbitten arm clawed at my chest. Blood was practically pouring out from the death grip that my jaw had on the flesh of my arm.

Footsteps sounded just in front of me. My gaze drifted upwards, my eyes full of the fear that was consuming me. The man standing there was the best that it could have been, but still I'd rather no one seen me in such a state.

_Please... go away, Shinpachi..._

As much as I wanted to tell him to leave, the pain was too much to even allow me to release my trapped limb. No, all I could do is wait for it to pass.


	9. Learning To Trust

_(Shinpachi's POV)_

Seeing the kid standing there, I immediately understood why she'd run off like she had. She'd known that this was about to happen. Watching her now, it was more than enough to make my heart ache.

When the half demon girl had looked up, I saw something I hadn't even thought possible. Tears. Tears poured out faster than the blood dripping from her arm. The look in her eyes, nothing but pure fear.

There was nothing I could do for her. She probably didn't even want help. But I reached out, placing my hands on her shoulders. The hand that was clawing at her chest grabbed my wrist, squeezing tightly. In a way, I guess she was thanking me for being there. Not like she could actually say it with her mouth busy digging its teeth into the flesh of her arm.

She wasn't nearly as strong as I'd imagined a demon would be. But being only half, I guess she wouldn't be. Regardless, all we could do now was wait for it to pass.

Once it had, she explained everything. Why it happened... how she didn't want to be seen in such a vulnerable state... the fact that it would happen again... She told me that it was incredibly rare for anyone to have her ability, so she had never told anyone about it. Because of that, there was nothing that could be done about the side effects. So the only alternative is to just tough it out.

_So this is the price she pays for her power... No wonder she's afraid of using it._

 

_(Half-breed's POV)_

It was two months before I'd fully recovered. Right now, I was staring up at the ceiling. For a moment, I allowed myself to think back to a few days after Shinpachi had discovered my secret.

 

Those jolts of pain had just ended and blood still dripped from my self-inflicted wound. As I wandered off, I froze when something strange came into sight. A man in the Shinsengumi uniform with blood red eyes and pure white hair. I didn't know why, but something about it felt wrong.

He looked right at me, a lust for blood clearly in his eyes. But he stood still, not showing any signs of attacking. No, he tilted his head, staring at me curiously. His gaze drifted down to my blood covered arm that was almost healed. But still, there was no movement.

Then, out of nowhere, he attacked. But I wasn't the one he went after. No, he leaped at someone else, the captain of the 2ndDivision, Saito. In seconds, the thing was dead at his feet.

“What was that thing?” I'd asked Shinpachi later on.

He'd went on to explain that it was a fury, something I'd heard Kazama mention. Until then, I'd had no idea just what a fury was. Shinpachi had then pointed out the weirdness of how I'd stolen everything they had regarding the Water of Life, yet I had no idea what any of that was really about.

 

I shuddered as I thought about that look in its eyes... Why didn't it attack me? Those things desired blood and I'd had a fair amount on me. Though I guess it was a relief that it didn't. I'd have been no match for that thing.

With that in mind, I thought of something important. Even though I'd trained with Kazama, I had no way of defending myself outside of running away. That had to change and I knew how I was going to do it. Standing up, I rushed off to find the one person I'd grown to trust. If anyone could do this, it would be him.


	10. Nothing But Lies

_(Half-Breed's POV)_

All day, I couldn't seem to find anyone. I was going to ask Shinpachi if he'd teach me to fight, but that would only be possible if I could actually find him.

As I passed by a room, I heard voices coming from inside.

“Kazama was right about torture having no effect on the kid,” one of the voices was saying. It wasn't hard to tell who the voice belonged to; I'd grown to know the captains of the Shinsengumi too well in my time here. That was the voice of the man I'd been looking for.

I started to reach for the door, but hesitated when I heard another voice speak. “So far it seems that treating her like one of us has given us some progress.” That was Harada, I was sure of it. “With luck, it won't be long before we find out where she hid it.”

“Good,” said another voice. It sounded like Hijikata, but since I couldn't hear it that clearly, it may have been Kondo.“We'll have to keep up with what we're doing then.”

“Hijikata, what do you intend to do with her after we've retrieved our research from her?” That voice was one that I was less familiar with. He seemed to have some sort of interest in me, though I wasn't sure if that would be a good or a bad thing. My guess was that it was Sannan, considering that he'd had such an interest in my blood after we'd discovered that furies won't attack me.

“Well, we most certainly can't just turn her loose,” Hijikata's voice answered. “Not only does she know about the furies, but there's also that little...  _ability_  of hers.”

“We also can't have her joining back up with Kazama.”

“Why not just kill her?” My body ran cold. That was Okita's voice. I'd thought that they weren't even going to consider that option anymore. Actually, I'd thought that we'd all become friends. Well, maybe not so much with Okita, but I was certain that I was on friendly terms with the others. “Keeps her quiet and makes sure she can't be used by the enemy.”

“That's a bit extreme, don't you think?”

“But it may be our only option.”

“That's insane! She's just a kid!” One voice... Only one person was speaking in my favor. The voice of the first person to treat me like another person, not just some pathetic little half-breed. “Why not just have her join us?”

“Shinpachi, I believe you were the one who told us that she had no intentions of joining us.” I flinched. I had said that, hadn't I? At the time I'd had no interest, but a lot had changed since then. “Even if she were willing, I'm afraid it would never work out.”

I waited for Shinpachi to stick up for me again, but there was nothing. He was just going to let them... I don't even want to think about it.

“Hijikata's right,” said a calm, emotionless voice. My guess was Saito. “The kid's not a fighter. She may be able to withstand high levels of pain, but that's all she can really offer. In the end, she'd be nothing more than a human shield.”

I couldn't listen anymore. Everything... them acting like they cared... me being a part of them... everything was all a lie... Even after I'd finally begun to feel like I belonged, in the end I was nothing.

Unable to contain it any longer, I let the tears spill out as I ran off down the hallway, nearly knocking someone over along the way.

 

_(Shinpachi's POV)_

“So you'd just kill her because she can't be useful?” I protested. After Saito's 'human shield' comment, I was starting to get pissed. “Aren't you forgetting about how she saved Souji's life even though it meant revealing her secret to us? She never even liked him! Hell, she  _hated_ us and she was willing to go that far to save him!”

“It's too high a risk,” Hijikata said.

Before I had a chance to argue with him, Sannan spoke. “If I recall, weren't there some physical side effects as well?” Sannan really only wanted her for his research on the furies; he didn't actually care whether she was alive or dead. Sure, alive would have been preferable, but you can take someone's blood even if they're dead.

“Only for her,” I said, deciding to tell them something that I promised I wouldn't. It may be the only way to convince them to let her live. “Not only did part of her hair turn white, but she would go through extremely large amounts of pain off and on for several days afterward.” I shuddered as I remembered the time I'd discovered that. The pain had been bad enough that the kid had to bite down on her own arm to keep from screaming and even then it was still bad enough to bring tears to her eyes.

“That is news to me.” Hijikata shot me a questioning look. “How do you know that?”

“She has a high pain tolerance, right?” I started. All of us were aware that “So if she is forced to bite down on her arm so hard that she draws her own blood to fight through the pain, then you can only assume that it's extremely painful.” I waited, giving everyone a moment to think about that. “The kid knew about all that before she saved Souji. She even went through the trouble of asking me not to tell anyone about it when I'd run into her during one of those moments.”

“That would explain the curved scars on her arm,” Heisuke said as Chizuru came in. “But even so, she's still a threat as long as she's alive.”

No one spoke as Chizuru served tea to everyone. We all had too much on our minds. I was sure that I wasn't the only one feeling guilty about what we were planning to do. Chizuru even looked liked there was something on her mind. But before anyone could ask, she spoke up.

“Um... you guys didn't say anything to the half-demon girl, did you?” As soon as Chizuru had said that, you could tell that something was wrong.

“No,” someone said, though I wasn't paying attention to who. I was too busy trying to think of why Chizuru would ask such a thing. “No one said anything to her.”

“Actually, I don't think any of us have seen her all day,” I heard Heisuke say. Now that I thought about, he was right. Even I hadn't seen her today, which was very strange. She'd actually been very attached to me since what happened with Okita; it was very rare for her to not be anywhere near me. In fact, she was practically my shadow. Inside headquarters anyway; she was never allowed outside of it. “Why do you ask?”

“You're sure you didn't?” The moment the next words left her mouth, I think my heart stopped. “Then why did she run away from here crying?”


	11. Playing With The Heart

_(Shinpachi's POV)_

“What?” I couldn't stop myself from shouting even if I'd wanted to. If the kid had just run away from here, then she must have heard us talking. I knew her better than the other captains, so I knew that she was likely planning to run. Whether or not she'd give back the research on the Water of Life that she'd stolen was still a mystery.

“Hey! Shin!” Heisuke was calling after me as I stood up and rushed to the door. “Where are you going?”

“If you were her and you'd just heard what we were talking about, what would you do?” It didn't take long for them to figure it out. She was going to run. While all of us were busy discussing what to do about her after we retrieved the research, she was taking advantage of that opportunity to escape.

I just hoped I'd get to her before anyone else did.

 

_(Half-Breed's POV)_

Everything they'd ever said to me... everything was all just a lie. As much as I didn't want to believe it, I knew it was true. Half-breeds don't have a place anywhere.

Before leaving the Shinsengumi's headquarters, I'd returned what I'd stolen. I left it in Hijikata's room, a place where I knew it would be found right away. Hopefully, it would buy me some time to get away before they realized I was gone.

Now, I was running through the streets of Kyoto, hoping that I wouldn't run into any of the Shinsengumi members. If I did, I could only hope it were one of the more sympathetic ones. But as every other time, things weren't going to go the way I wanted them to.

 _Just keep going,_ I repeated to myself as I ran. Turning around a corner, my foot slide out from under me and sending me crashing to the ground. As I struggled to my feet, someone grabbed my arm from behind. I quickly spun around, intending to fight off the stranger, but froze the second I saw his face.

With tears still coming out, I glared up at him. Shinpachi Nagakura. Until now, I'd really believed that he was my friend.

“You have what you want! Just leave me alone!” I shouted at him. “I... I really thought that you were my friends... I thought that maybe for once in my life I could have a normal life. But it was all a lie, wasn't it? You were just acting that way to get what you wanted.”

He said nothing, but I could feel his grip loosening. “And you... of all of them, you were the worst!” My shouts quickly turned to sobs. “All my life, Kazama had told me that I was a worthless little half-breed, that no one would ever accept me because of that. Then you made me think that maybe he was wrong... But the only one who was wrong was me, for believing it.” I struggled in his grip, but it was no use. “I'd have thought that even you would know how cruel it is to play with a girl's heart like that!”

With those last words, Shinpachi released his grip on me. Confused, I looked up at him to see a pained expression on his face. “Go.” His voice was emotionless, which was unusual for him. It was hard to believe that he'd let me go just like that. “Get far from here while you still can.”

 

_(Shinpachi's POV)_

After seeing the look on her face, I couldn't bring myself to drag her back to headquarters.

She was still just a kid, one who had never even had a chance to live her own life. Her own family handed her over to Kazama who treated her worse than a worthless mutt. Then he just let us take her so easily, knowing that we would likely kill her. Hell, the guy even asked us to kill her. From there, she became our prisoner. And then we made her think that we had accepted her as one of us, all to get back something she'd been forced to steal from us.

“You deserve a peaceful life a lot more than any of us do...” I said to myself as I watched her run off. These were the words I'd wanted to say to her, but couldn't. “I don't want to see you get killed, and I don't want you to suffer anymore. You might be a bit rough on the outside, but inside you were better than a lot of us. If we'd met under better circumstances, maybe we really could have been friends...”

“Hey Shinpachi!” I turned in time to find Heisuke and Sano running up to me. “Why'd you let her get away like that?”

“We don't need her anymore,” I told them before heading back. “I'm not about to just hand over some helpless girl over to people who intend to kill her without a good reason.”

“I think you're forgetting that Hijikata ordered us to bring her back to headquarters,” Heisuke argued with me. But even if that was the order, Sano and Heisuke still walked away with me.

“He's not going to be very happy to hear that you had her and then just let her go.” Sano was right, but I honestly didn't care right now.

“To hell with orders!” I snapped at them. “We have what we wanted, so there's no reason for us to keep her around. Besides, you couldn't see that look on her face just now...”

“Uh-oh, I hope you didn't start falling for that half-breed,” teased Heisuke, making me want to hit him. “Hijikata would never forgive that one.”

“Shut it, Heisuke,” There was no chance of me feeling anything for her. She was still just a kid, and I... well, I wasn't. “I just didn't want to see her get killed before she'd even had a chance to live. Not after everyone she'd even known had betrayed her.”

“I wouldn't say everyone.” As Sano spoke, I stopped and stared at him. “After all, you cared enough to let her go.”


	12. Another Mess

_(Half-Breed's POV)_

Days passed slowly from that day on. Eventually, those days turned into weeks and then into months. Before I knew it, two years had gone by.

For two years, I finally knew what it felt like to be free. But even if I was free, there was a chance that it would be taken from me the moment I encountered the Shinsengumi or Kazama.

Even if they didn't know my name, Kazama did know. My name was not safe and I was even less so. No, I was forced to wander around while using a different name. To be safe, I settled on some names I figured were fairly common. For now, I was Sakura Ibuki.

Often I'd be asked why a woman like me was alone. Each time I'd simply say that I wasn't alone and that my brother was somewhere nearby. Of course, some people would pry further and ask for a name. I'd simply given them my real brother's first name.

Even if I hadn't seen my brother since I was six, I still remembered him. We came from different mothers and he was the lucky one to have been born a pure demon. But that had never kept him from being protective of me and loving me. But once my father had given me to Kazama, I never got to see him again.

Of course, had I known that someone with his name and the fake last name actually existed, I'd have given him a fake name as well.

 

As dangerous as it was, I could never seem to stray far from Kyoto. By doing that, several people who lived in the area had grown to know me, and often asked when they might be seeing my brother who wouldn't actually be coming. One day though, I just managed to catch a tiny bit of an interesting conversation.

“Ryunosuke Ibuki?” and old woman was saying to a blue haired boy. The second that name left her lips, it felt like my heart stopped. “You must be sweet little Sakura's brother. It's so kind of you to be looking after your little sister like that.”

The boy seemed confused, as he should be. I mean, who wouldn't be if some old woman was talking to you about your sister when you didn't have a sister? But before he had a chance to say anything, the old woman spoke up again. “Well hello there, Sakura. Look, you're brother's here. He's such a sweet boy.”

I quickly faked a smile and approached the boy. “It's about time you showed your face around here, Ryunosuke,” I lied, silently hoping he'd be smart enough to play along. He smiled a little, so I assumed that meant he would pretend he knew me. “Come on, I'll show you that place that I was telling you about.”

As I gently grabbed his arm, he allowed himself to be led off. Either he was stupid for trusting a total stranger or he was smart enough to tell that I was no threat. Regardless, the two of us were standing in one of the alleyways where no one would see us.

“This is a bit embarrassing...” I tried to smile, but I was sure it looked forced. “I guess I should probably explain myself.”

The boy nodded. “I'd like to know why that woman thought we were related.”

With a sigh, I began to slowly explain the situation. “Where do I begin... well, I guess I should start with the fact that I'm sort of wanted by the Shinsengumi.” That wasn't exactly true, but I wasn't exactly on friendly terms with them either. “And there's a man that I used to work for who may or may not be looking for me. Long story short, it's not safe for me to use my own name. So I just used the first one I thought of.”

Ryunosuke quietly thought it over. I couldn't tell if he believed me or if he could even be trusted. But at this point, I didn't really have many options. “I understand your problem, but that doesn't explain why that woman thought we were related.”

I let out a sigh and began to explain about how it seemed strange for a woman to be traveling alone. My idea had been to pretend that I'd had someone with me, but a husband, lover or friend would likely spark too many questions. So I settled on a sibling. “My brother's name was Ryunosuke, so I just went with that,” I admitted, looking down at the ground. “I didn't have any idea that anyone around her went by that name.”

Ryunosuke nodded. “Just how long have you been doing this?”

“Two years...”

He sighed and looked down at me. “Can't exactly go changing your story now...” After a moment of silence, he nodded to himself. “I'm not sure how much I could trust you, since you mentioned that you're not on the Shinsengumi's good side, but I can't exactly just let you wander around using my name. Besides, that woman thinks we're siblings. It'd be too suspicious to start acting like we don't know each other.”

It took a moment before I understood what he was trying to say. “So you're going to go along with this?” I asked cautiously. The way he spoke certainly made it seem that way. But then again, this guy was a complete stranger, so just how mush could he be trusted? For all I knew, he might pretend to be on my side and then just hand me over to the Shinsengumi who would most likely kill me or to Kazama and I'd be right back where I'd started.

“I know how the Shinsengumi is. I didn't exactly leave on the best of terms with them, but as far as I know, they assume I'm dead.”

That still didn't really answer my question. But, if he was telling the truth, I figured that meant he was on my side. Then again, I'd thought that about the members of the Shinsengumi too. In the end, they turned out to be my enemies. Or at least, that was what I’d thought of them as.

But one of them had helped me to escape. To be honest, I still couldn't understand why. Shinpachi Nagakura had no reason to let me go. In fact, I was almost certain I'd been a hassle for him. He'd been stuck with the task of getting information from me and later he'd been left playing babysitter. He had to have hated me...

 _No..._ I reminded myself.  _He was there for me that one time, even though he had no reason to._ When I'd wandered off by myself just before the painful jolts began, he'd followed and stayed with me until it was all over. But why would he do such a thing?

I'd been so lost in my own thoughts, I hadn't realized that Ryunosuke had kept talking. “Sorry, I was just thinking about something,” I apologized. He raised an eyebrow and asked what it was, but I merely shook my head and told him that we couldn't talk about it here. He accepted that and together we wandered off on the streets of Kyoto.


	13. Something Missing

_(Shinpachi's POV)_

Without the kid around, things seemed a lot quieter. Maybe I'd just gotten used to her following me around. Even if I'd never understood why she seemed so interested in me, I can't say that I hated it. It was nice having a girl show some interest, even if that girl was a bit young for me.

Two years had passed by since the last time I'd seen her. Every so often, I felt my mind drifting back to those days she'd spent by my side. She'd been a bit harsh and rough in the beginning, but as I'd grown closer to her, I began to see a whole other side of her.

“ _You're pretty mature for your age,” I'd told her once. She looked at me with an eyebrow raised. At the time I had no idea why._

“ _Seriously?” Her voice was calm, but a little surprised. “I've always thought I was a bit childish.”_

“ _Well, I think kids your age are supposed to be childish.”_

“ _Kids my age...? Wait a minute.” She sounded almost offended. “Just how old do you think I am?”_

_I didn't want to answer that. That's one of those questions that has no right answer._

“ _Just because I'm little doesn't mean I'm child.” She gave me a playful sort of of glare. “I happen to be sixteen you know. My body just hasn't grown up yet.”_

As I thought back to that memory, I found myself laughing. In a way, I guess I missed having the kid around. Or maybe I'd only gotten so used to her being there.

There had been many times when I'd seen a dark haired woman with single strip of white in her hair. But every time, she vanished before I could get a good look. If only I'd known what her name had been, I could at least ask those who had seen her if she was doing alright. But I guess all I can do is put it out of my mind now.

“Hey Shinpachi,” Sano's voice called me, pulling me away from my thoughts. “Aren't you supposed to go on patrol soon?”

He was right and I was glad he'd reminded me. “I was about to head out,” I said. That was true, though I'd managed to distract myself and lost track of the time. Sano shot me a questioning look. “What?”

He just sighed. “You were thinking about that kid, weren't you?” If anyone knew me, it was Sano. He could always tell when something was on my mind, even if I thought I was doing a good job of hiding it. “You're not regretting letting her go, are you?”

“Of course I don't regret it.” With I sigh I stood up and started walking with him. “I just got so used to having her around, you know? So I just wonder if she's okay.”

Sano gave me a look. I knew that look too well. He was thinking that there was more to it than what I was telling him. But really, that's all there really was. I expected him to question it, but he didn't. “Well, the next time you see her, she'll be a grown woman. Can't keep making the excuse that she's a kid anymore,” he said.

“What the hell's that supposed to mean?” I asked, but Sano didn't answer. He only smirked and walked away, leaving me to figure out his words on my own.


	14. Thoughts & Memories

_(Shinpachi's POV)_

Sano's words kept playing over in my head.  _The next time you see her, she'll be a grown woman. Can't keep making the excuse that she's a kid anymore._

Just what was that supposed to mean? After a moment, a thought crossed my mind. Heisuke and Sano had teased me when I'd let her go, saying that I'd let her go because I'd fallen for her. At the time I'd claimed I couldn't be because she was still just a kid.

Apparently my friends still thought that. But I never felt that way about anyone and I never would. At least, that's what I think. After all, you never really know what's going to happen tomorrow.

But I know I'd never be able to think of the kid as any but what I'd known her as. To me, she was just a little girl who'd never had a chance to live her life. I'd let her go solely because she deserved a real chance and I didn't want to see her life taken from her before she could even live.

That's all there was to it. Still though, Sano's words haunted my thoughts. All throughout the time I was patrolling the streets of Kyoto, those words never once left my mind.

As I went along my way, something caught my eye. Walking with a young man was a dark haired woman. But that wasn't what caught my attention. No, it was the strip of white in her hair that I noticed. But before I could get a good look at her, she was gone.

Once more, those words echoed through my head.  _Can't keep making the excuse that she's a kid anymore._

 

_(Half-Breed's POV)_

“Ri was the only family that ever treated me like family.” Now that we were away from the crowded streets, I could finally tell my fake brother, Ryunosuke Ibuki, about my real brother, Ryunosuke Fujimoto. As a child, Ri had been my nickname for my brother. “We may have come from different mothers, but that never mattered to him.”

Because I'd been so young the last time I'd seen him, my memory was a bit fuzzy. But regardless, I tried to say everything I could. Of course, I did leave out the part about him being a full demon and myself being half. If he was unaware of the existence of demons, then it was best left this way.

As I talked about Ri, a certain memory came to mind.

 

Ri, having been a little more than ten years older than me, had been quite skilled with a sword. He'd trained most of his life and by the age of seventeen, he was a master with a blade. At least, in my eyes he was.

I remembered watching him one day as he practiced on a wooden dummy I'd helped him make. With a sword in each hand, he reminded me of a bladed whirlwind, striking his target faster than my little eyes could see.

Suddenly, he stopped. “Something on your mind, Emi?” Ri called out, as he turned to where I stood peeking out from behind a tree. He had a gentle smile as he said the nickname he'd given me. Caught, I ran over to where my elder brother stood.

“Will you teach me?” I asked sweetly, making Ri laugh.

Sheathing his twin blades, he picked up a pair of sticks from the ground. One he handed to me, the other he kept for himself. “I think these will work for a first lesson,” he said in that gentle voice of his.

With that, he'd shown me everything he could. But that would be the only lesson I ever got from him. And because I'd only been about six at the time, I wouldn't be able to remember the things he'd taught me.

But one thing I do remember was what we talked about afterwards. “What's really bothering you?” he asked. With a sigh, I flopped down onto the soft grass.

“Daddy... doesn't like me, does he?” I'd known my father disliked me, so Ri didn't actually have to answer that. But there was still one question that bothered me. “Why?”

My brother wasn't surprised by that question. “Your mother was a human, but he loved her very much.” He took a moment, planning out his words very carefully so that I would understand. “Humans and Demons aren't supposed to mix. Demons are supposed to mind their own business and Human don't know about us.”

At the time, I didn't really understand how that part fit into this. “My mother was a Demon, so I'm a Demon. Your mother was Human, so that makes you only half Demon,” he slowly continued. The whole concept wasn't easy to explain to a child, but Ri was doing really well. “Half-breeds, like you, aren't liked much. When people find out you are one, then they usually treat you different. Even if they were your best friend before, they won't be when they find out you're a half.” In other words, no one will accept you if you're a half-breed. No matter what two you are, it's all the same.

“Does that mean you hate me too?” I remembered asking him.

The very second I'd asked, Ri scooped my up and hugged me tight. “You are my sister,” he said in a firm voice. “I don't care what you are. No matter what, you are my sister and I'm going to love you and I'd fight my way to the ends of the earth to protect you.”

No words had ever made me happier. The memory of them would always bring a smile to my face. In a way, it was comforting to think that maybe, just maybe, Ri was out there somewhere searching for me, still trying to keep that promise he'd made years ago.

 

As I told the story to Ryunosuke, I didn't even realize what I'd just told him until it was too late. “What do you mean by _Demon_?”


	15. Demons

_(Half-Breed's POV)_

“What do you mean by  _Demon?_ ” When those words left his lips, I felt my heart skip a beat. My status of being half Demon was meant to stay a secret. But now it was a little too late to cover it up. All I could do was tell the truth.

“It's sort of complicated, because no one is suppose to know about us,” I started. If I were being honest, I didn't have a clue where to start. But lucky for me, Ryunosuke knew more than I'd expected him to.

“Wait, you don't mean you're a  _fury,_ do you?” He backed away from me a bit, worried that I might be dangerous. Couldn't say I blamed him; I'd probably react the same way if I were him.

At being compared to one of those things, I found myself a bit irritated. But overall, I was more surprised that he even knew about those. “You... you know about those things?” For a moment, my thoughts drifted back to the only encounter I'd had with the furies. “You're close. But Demons are a little different.”

Shinpachi had briefly explained what they were once. With what I knew, Demons and Furies were a lot alike. Having heard Kazama refer to them as 'False Demons' only supported that thought. “Demons have all the strength and speed of Furies, as well as their healing abilities. But Demons don't suffer from the bloodlust or weakness from the sunlight.”

Ryunosuke considered my words carefully before he finally relaxed again. “So what does it mean for you to be only half Demon?”

Good question. “It means my Demon abilities are weaker.” I pulled my sleeve up, revealing some of my scars. “My wounds don't heal as fast and almost always leave behind a scar.” After explaining that bit, I fixed my sleeve and continued on. “I don't have their strength, but I do have their speed.”

I didn't dare mention my other ability. Even though I'd slipped up before, I wasn't going to do it again. That information was dangerous for anyone to know. In fact, it had supported the Shinsengumi's decision to kill me. No, Ryunosuke couldn't know about that.

“What about the hair? Is that random bit of white part of being a demon too?”

Once more, it felt like my heart skipped a beat. I wasn't about to explain that it was from an ability that no one knew about. No way in hell was I going to tell him the truth. “I don't know,” I lied. “Never met anyone else with it. All I know is I was born with it.”

Ryunosuke looked like he didn't really believe that, but he didn't question it. For that, I was grateful. Too many questions would bring trouble.

As the conversation ended, my thoughts drifted away on their own. Before I knew it, I had begun to think of the man who'd given me my freedom. While I did, I realized something: I missed Shinpachi.


	16. Admit It

_(Shinpachi's POV)_

Time seemed to pass slower after the day that I'd thought I'd seen her. Ever since, I often found myself remembering some of the times we'd had.

Like the night we'd captured her and that broken voice that desperately cried out to the people who'd then left her to die. Then there was all the times we'd attempted to interrogate her, but the only one she'd tell anything to was me. Those conversations were actually kind of fun.

Then I thought of when she'd saved Okita. She could have run away. Really, she _should_ have run. But the second he'd gotten hurt, she froze in her tracks. Then after I'd grabbed her, she'd begged me to let her go so that she could save him. Even though the two clearly disliked each other, she wanted to save his life. I don't think I'll ever understand that.

And I could never forget that look on her face that last time I'd seen her. She'd acted so tough before that I'd never even considered it possible for her to cry. Not unless it were because of an intensely high level of pain. But remembering the look on her face, I could feel my heart aching. We'd all made her trust us, only for her to find out that she shouldn't have trusted us.

“Just admit it already,” Sano's voice sighed next to me. Quickly I snapped back to reality.

“There's nothing to admit,” I said, my voice sounding a bit too defensive. But honestly, what was there to admit? I let her go because I felt sorry for her, end of story. I only thought about her now because I felt horrible about deceiving her. Why couldn't anyone seem to understand that?

Sano just shook his head. “You're just going to keep denying it, aren't you?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but I was quickly distracted as something with white hair and blood red eyes darted past me. A fury. A few steps behind were four more.

When none of our men went chasing after them, I did. If five furies were leaving headquarters like that, no doubt there was going to be trouble. With Sano two steps behind me, I raced after them, determined to stop them.

 

_(Half-Breed's POV)_

For two weeks, Ryunosuke and I had been able to successfully convince people that were siblings, despite how different we looked. To be honest, we actually looked nothing alike. But with a bit of good acting, we'd done it. Luckily we were just as successful in avoiding the members of the Shinsengumi.

“Hey Ryunosuke, you never did tell me how you were involved with the Shinsengumi,” I said to him as we sat under a tree just outside the city. It was such a peaceful day and warm too.

My fake brother frowned slightly. “It's a long story,” he sighed. “But I was kinda stuck with them. Had to repay a debt to a guy who helped me out.”

His involvement started out on much friendlier terms than it had for me. But the way he'd mentioned it before made it seem like it was more like they wanted him dead. “That doesn't sound that bad...”

Ryunosuke laughed a little. “It really wasn't, but it did end with Okita trying to kill me.” That wasn't hard to believe. Okita had always seemed like he wanted to kill just about everyone. But then again, I'd only ever seen that side of him. Regardless, I could tell he was a sadistic sort of person.

Before I had a chance to ask any more, I saw two figures quickly approaching us. When the got close enough, Ryunosuke and I recognized them immediately. White hair and red eyes... furies. Instantly we jumped to our feet as three more joined the two.

I slowly backed up and soon my back was against my fake brother's. The furies now formed a circle around us. They didn't attack, but I knew it was only a matter of time.

Regardless, were trapped. Not to mention out numbered and only one on our side had any sort of weapon. As the five kept muttering something about blood, I couldn't help but shiver. “I really hope you know how to use that sword...”


	17. Furies

There had to have been something we could do. Ryunosuke had admitted that he wasn't that good with a sword, though he might be able to take down one of the furies if he had to.

Me? I'd never had any training besides what I'd learned from Kazama. But that had never been any real help. All I could do was dodge their attacks. I'd be little more than something to... That's it!

“If I kept their focus on me, do you think you could take them down?” I asked, my back still pressed against my fake brother's. The furies still hadn't attacked yet, so I never took my eyes off them. “It may be the only chance we've got.”

“How are you going to keep them busy?”

Good question. I hadn't actually thought of that yet. What would draw their attention? Then it hit me. Shinpachi had mentioned that they desired blood, so why not use that to our advantage? “Furies like blood, right?” I watched them as they began to get restless. Any second now... “You give the signal and I'll draw their attention.”

At Ryunosuke's signal, I leaped into action. Using my teeth, I ripped open the skin on the palm of my hand. Instantly, whether it was the sight or the smell, it caught the attention of the five furies. Now it was time to put my demon skills to the test.

 

_(Shinpachi's POV)_

I never imagined that taking down furies could ever be this easy. But maybe that was because their attention was focused on a figured darting around and in between the five of them. The figure's companion seemed to be attempting to kill the furies, but he wasn't nearly quick enough to succeed.

This is where I jumped in. Between the mystery person's distraction and my sword skills, this was as easy as swatting a fly. I took them down one by one and in no time I stood in a circle of dead furies.

“That's the easiest fight I've had in a long time,” I laughed a bit at the situation. Turning to the mystery person who had assisted me, I found their back turned to me. “We make a pretty good team. You could be a real demon in battle if you used a sword.”

The mystery person didn't respond, they were too busy looking at their hand. Getting a better look, I noticed something strange. With the stranger's dark hair pulled up into a ponytail, a small tuft of white hair that was cut shorter than rest was visible.  _It couldn't possibly be..._

As the figure turned, I thought my heart stopped. The person also had a strip of white in the front on her right side. There was only one person I knew of that had hair like that. But that wasn't what had completely capture my attention.

The kid's words from two years ago echoed in my mind, followed by what Sano had said only days ago.

_I happen to be sixteen you know. My body just hasn't grown up yet._

_The next time you see her, she'll be a grown woman. Can't keep making the excuse that she's a kid anymore._

She'd looked like a kid then, but now... I guess the simplest way to put would be to say that her body had caught up with her age. The kid definitely didn't look like a kid anymore.

Sano had a point in what he'd said, regardless of my feeling towards her. She was a grown woman, I couldn't treat her like a kid anymore. Which meant I shouldn't be thinking of her as one either. But how do you suddenly change that after thinking the same way for so long?

I wanted to tell her I was sorry for deceiving her before. I wanted to say that I'd missed having her around. They were more things to say than I could count. But no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't say a thing. All I could do was look at her and wonder if anything other than her appearance had changed.

As I stared at her, I thought I could hear Sano's voice taunting me. “I told you so...”


	18. Denial

_(Half-Breed's POV)_

_He's just staring at me... Why is he doing that? Wait, why does it make my face feel warm when he's looking at me like that?_ I shook my head quickly to clear away the feeling. Encountering Shinpachi had not been a part of my plan. “Why are you staring like that?” My voice came out a lot harsher than I intended as I turned my eyes away from him.

“I told you so,” I heard Harada's voice say to him a second time. Apparently I was left out of the loop, because I had no idea what he was talking about. Ryunosuke, who was now standing near me, didn't seem to get it either. Knowing Harada, it could have been anything.

Shinpachi only laughed. “I still say you're wrong, Sano.” Glancing back at the two samurai of the Shinsengumi, I watched them approaching the guy who had been pretending to be my brother. “Now who is- wait, Ryunosuke?”

My fake brother looked away from the two men in front of us. “How come you never told us you were back in Kyoto?” Harada gave a small glare and crossed his arms.

“Why should I?”

 

_(Shinpachi's POV)_

Ryunosuke's response earned him a punch from Sano. Because he got angry pretty easy and never held back when it came to guys, the blow had knocked Ryunosuke over. Where he landed though, may have been just as bad. He'd been knocked into the kid- I mean... damn, what  _do_  I call her now since calling her 'kid' doesn't work?

She let out a small squeak of surprise as the two fell. That had been a sound I'd never heard from her before. Almost as quickly as he'd fallen, she'd pushed him off of her and moved back from the three of us.

I couldn't help but laugh. Though as I looked at her, I noticed something odd. On her cheeks was a tinge of red.  _Is she actually blushing?_ It seemed so out of character for her. But then again, just how much did anyone know about her?

“Hey Sano,” I asked my friend. “Are you seeing what I'm seeing or am I just imagining it?” She couldn't possibly have grown shy over the past two years.

A small chuckle from Sano gave me my answer. That blush was definitely there, but why? My gaze flicked over to Ryunosuke. I guess it was possible that she developed feelings for him and was nervous or something. I mean, she's still a girl, no matter how tough she acts.

But as I considered that possibility, I found myself scowling. Though I didn't really know exactly why.

Beside me, Sano burst out laughing. “Why don't you just admit it already?”

“There's nothing to admit.” With a scowl, I crossed my arms over my chest. Why couldn't he and Heisuke just drop it already?

Before Sano could with me about it, another beat him to it. While we'd been focused on ourselves, we didn't even notice that Heisuke had joined us until he'd spoken. “Just stop denying it; You're not fooling anybody.”

“I'm not denying anything! You're just imagining it!”


	19. Innocence

_(Half-Breed's POV)_

Harada and Heisuke insisted that Shinpachi 'admit it already,' though I had no idea what they could possibly mean. Whatever it was, it was probably none of my business, so I didn't ask.

I had my own issues right now anyway. First of all, how am I supposed to react to seeing these three again? Should I be happy to see Shinpachi and go running into his arms? That sounds terrible... Should I be afraid of the three men in front of me? The Shinsengumi had been planning on killing me... Should I be angry? They'd made me think they were on my side and then betrayed me... My own emotions were at war with each other, resulting in my standing there like an idiot.

Wait a second... was I just thinking that I was happy to see Shinpachi? I should have thought about being happy to see the three, not just the one... I gave my head a shake, trying to force the thought away.  _You're just a little flustered about seeing him again._

Wait,  _flustered?_ What am I even thinking? As I tried to force the traitorous thoughts away, I heard a voice in my head.  _You may act tough, but deep down, you're still a girl._

As annoying as it was, the voice was right. Regardless of how I acted, I was still a girl. And guess what? I still have feelings. I was able to love... Ah! Did I really just...? Just thinking that L word made my face start to feel warm again...

But as my eyes caught sight of a dark red liquid slowly trickling down Shinpachi's arm, all the thoughts on my mind vanished. Rushing forward, I grabbed his arm gently. “You're hurt...” My voice came out so much smaller than I intended. But I guess it made sense. After all, I hated to see anyone get hurt.

“Huh?” He looked over at his right arm. “I guess I am.” How could he be so calm? Oh, right. He'd probably been injured countless times before. This one seemed pretty minor, so it was probably nothing to him.

“I-” The words I tried to say caught in my throat. I really hated that he was hurt, but what I was about to offer scared me. “I could...”

 

_(Shinpachi's POV)_

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. She was offering to use that little healing ability she had. Even though she knew, both of us knew, what would happen if she used it. Just knowing that she would offer to do that for me, it meant a lot. But of course, I couldn't let her do it.

“This is nothing,” I said with a grin. “It'll heal on its own in no time.” It's not like it was anything serious. Hell, I'd been through a hundred times worse.

The kid didn't offer again. Damn it, I called her 'kid' again. I really have to quit that. Though it would be much simpler if she'd actually had a name I could call her.

I looked down at her, intending to ask about her name again, but stopped as I noticed something. She still had a hold of my arm. My eyes met with hers a moment, wondering if she realized just what she was doing.

My answer quickly came as she let out another startled squeak. She backed up very quickly. Just before she'd turned away, I noticed the bit of red on her cheeks again.

 _Who would have thought that someone so tough would be such an innocent when it came to love?_ Wait,  _love?_ Damn you, Sano... your words are starting to mess with my head.


	20. That's Not My Name

_(Half-Breed's POV)_

I didn't know what had come over me. What could possibly have possessed me to hold onto Shinpachi like that? My heart was racing and I just couldn't get it to calm down. But why though?

Scanning through every last bit of my brain, I searched for any time I'd ever felt this. I found nothing. That must have meant it was something that I'd never felt before. Thinking everything through and comparing it to what I'd observed and learned over the past two years, I realized what it was.

Needless to say, I immediately blushed even more when I realized that I'd grown to love Shinpachi. Maybe he'd never return those feelings, but I'd known long before this that it would be this way. After all, a half-breed will always be trapped between worlds. Neither side accepting, always rejecting. But that's just life.

It was a fact I'd learned to live with. And it helped me to decide something very important. There was something that had to be done and another to be said. And in the end, I didn't mind if Shinpachi could never share my feelings; I just wanted to be near him as long as I could.

 

_(Shinpachi's POV)_

The kid seemed to be deep in thought. Great, there I go calling her a kid again. She wasn't a helpless little girl anymore. She didn't need me to protect her. That thought reminded me of the way things had been when I'd let her go. Now that we'd found her again, she couldn't be anywhere near the Shinsengumi or she'd likely get killed.

“You should probably go,” I said calmly. “If any of the others see you, it might not end well.”

Her eyes met with mine for just a moment before she shook her head. “It's time to stop running. I'm gonna face my fate like a man.”

I was tempted to point out the fact that she was a woman, but I kept my mouth shut. If she wanted to face it, then who was I to stop her? Maybe it would be alright in the end. Maybe. For now I just had to hope it would be fine.

“You might get killed if you stick with us,” I warned, hoping that maybe that could change her mind. Of course, I doubted it would make any difference. “Might be your last chance to get away.”

She only shook her head. “I don't want to run anymore.”

As much as I disliked that she might get killed, I admired how she was willing to face it. Though I had to wonder, if she was so willing to do this, what had happened in during the past two years? Had their been something horrible that made her not want to live? Maybe that was why she'd come back to Kyoto: to have us end it.

While the four of us began to walk back to headquarters, my mind was troubled. No matter how hard I tried not to, I worried about what was going to happen next. Worrying then made me want to protect her like I always had. I worried so much that I almost missed what was being said right now.

“We missed you little half-breed,” I heard Heisuke say to her. I had a feeling he really only meant that I'd missed her. Though I doubted she'd be able to figure that out.

The words that left her mouth surprised all of us. “I have a name you know.”

“Well you always refused to tell us.” Sano had a mischievous sort of smirk on his face. It made me want to scowl at him, but I had my mind on something else. “Can't blame us for calling you the only name you ever gave us.”

My reaction to her words was a little bit different. I heard her words from two years ago echoing through my mind.  _I'll tell you my real name when I know I can trust you._ As I remember those words, I realized just what it meant for her to tell us. “So you trust us now?”

Heisuke, not having known about her words that day, was completely confused. “Hey Shin, I think that's way off topic.” Even if didn't give me an answer to my trust question, her next words gave me all the answers I needed.

She giggled and ran ahead of us. “My name... It's been so long since the last time anyone has called me by it...” The young woman in front of us stopped and spun around to face us with a laugh and a smile on her face. “My name is Emiru.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so that's the end of the story. (By the way, I've had this ending planned since I started the story.)  
> But I will be writing a few one-shots for Shin and Emiru that I will put in here. And you are welcome to request scenarios for this adorable pair.  
> I even have cute pictures to go with them.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading!


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